8 SXSW Things That Remind You This Place Is Weird

DC9 at Night spent four days in Austin at SXSW, along with another three hundred thousand or so people. It was never going to be a normal experience akin to spending the night out in Deep Ellum, but there were constant reminders that this is a very special event taking place in a city that prides itself on being weird. The whole effect was therefore kind of amplified weirdness. We found our twitter feeds descending into reports of totally incongruous things that were happening right by us right now. Here are some of the best/worst.

1. Walking into what was, I think, a falafel shop (how very Austin) I was confronted by a six-year old posing for a photo with two Iron Mans. Iron Men? There's only meant to be one, right? Either way, these costumes were serious business. It was probably actual Iron Man and his stunt double, who had a slightly less fanciful costume, in that it was blue.

2. People walking through the throngs holding banners with declarations of some sort, despite the fact that they were just hitting a lot of people in the face with the banners. The best of all banner declarations was Yung Nation's "I AM A FUCKING GENIUS," complete with a demand to follow him on Twitter. And they say satire isn't possible any more.

Marco Torres

3. Several pedicabs weaving in and out of side streets were sponsored by HBO, and as such had actual Iron Thrones instead of comfortable chairs. Impressive as this spectacle might be, I have several reservations about such a concept, two of which I will lay out here. One, the Iron Throne is supposed to be hugely uncomfortable. That's the point of it, in a way. Second, several jutting poles with spikes on the end are probably not the best thing to leave hanging over the side of your transportation method meant for use in pedestrianized areas. They could've just made a pedicab look like a dragon, but then it would never have turned up to the main festival. HEY-OH!